Derby Talk

Derby Talk is a forum for Pinewood Derby, Awana Grand Prix, Kub Kar Rally, Shape N Race Derby, Space Derby, Raingutter Regatta and other similar races where a child and an adult work together to create a race vehicle and a lot of fun and memories

An interesting concept and very well done. Although 21 pages does seem a bit lengthy (and pricey if you have to make a lot of copies), it is a great way of getting the point across. I do wonder how many of the parents would actually take the time to read it.

In performing the duties of a PWD chairman for all three levels of competition ( Pack / District / Council ), I wanted to step back a bit last year and consider what was needed to increase the level of consistency, fairness, and competitive equality within the activity. I also wanted to cast the widest net possible as far as skill level and experience.

The one thing that I really concentrated on was keeping the guide closer to the look of a "program" rather than a restrictive, presumptive tech paper. I started compiling snippets of content over the summer, and started circulating working drafts at the beginning of September. The original draft is 42 pages, in my ever so horibbly "wordy" style. I then went through and pared down the verbage, tweaking the layout, and hunting through microsoft office online for some icons and stuff to tie it all together visually. The "grey" areas I really wanted to tackle were wheel specs, body specs, and precut bodies for tigers. Certainly there has been a tremendous amount of healthy debate that has gone into the Guide, and as always, it evolves with the activity.

I need to pare down the essentials into a "one-off" single sheet or two page summary of important specs, but I am comfortable with comprehensive vs. printing costs, because I deliver the doc electronically. We have two or three copies avail at the event.